What Are Friends For
by KazunaRei
Summary: Knuckles falls with the Master Emerald, Sonic catches him. Talking happens and a friendship is born.


Overactive mind why must you plague me~~~. DX

Hmm~ just something I thought up is all, and besides I kinda need to work on my Knuckles, I think, if I'm gonna use him for uh another story I plan on writing. *cough* 8DDD *shot*

. . . Ow. Anyway to the story with you people~!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic~. Ah.

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><p>Sky Sanctuary was Knuckles favorite part of Angel Island. From there he could see the different regions of the island. The lush jungles, the marble garden, the carnival, lit up at night, the snow covered mountains, the fungi filled forest, and the desert. He'd wander around the sanctuary, pausing sometimes to enjoy the view as it passed over the island. One of the things he liked the most was jumping off and gliding down.<p>

What he didn't like was what he was currently doing, free-falling with an over-sized jewel on his back.

Knuckles was felt a mixture of emotions run through him so quickly he left was somewhat dizzy. Anger. Sadness. Relief. Fear.

He was furious with himself, stupid stupid stupid! How could he be so foolish! The moment he let his guard down, after Sonic and Tails left, Robotnik struck again, the obese mad scientist had a backup plan to think he would try again so soon. He was mad at the scientist; he destroyed more of his island. Knuckles eyes glazed over, his poor island, most of the jungle was nothing more than smoldering remains, Marble Garden was just about flat, most of it underground from Robotnik's drilling, and there was nothing left of Sky Sanctuary, the remains of the ruins falling into the ocean. He had to be the worst guardian in existence to have allowed all this to happen to the Angel Island.

Well maybe not, he still had the Master Emerald, after spending the past two days fighting through bots to ensure that it stayed safe.

Which led to the situation he was in now, free-falling clutching the Master Emerald, Angel Island growing closer. Splaying his quills did little to slow him down, he was much too heavy. If he let go of the Master Emerald he could save himself, but the gem stone would more than likely shatter on the ground if he did.

Naturally that was out of the question. Knuckles couldn't allow anything to happen to the Master Emerald. Even if it meant he had to cushion the jewel with his body once they reached the ground. His breath hitched at the thought, he was going to die, well he knew that it would happen, but to think it would be because he made a horrible mistake when it came to judging a character. How could he have known better! Knuckles been alone most of his life. But then again he should've been more wary . . .

Knuckles came full circle, he went back to furiously berating himself for being so naïve. He was so busy doing so he didn't hear the red plane coming towards him. He landed on the wing causing it to dip sharply, he started to slip off and the plane jerked up leveling out. Knuckles blinked as a familiar triumphant voice cried out,

"Yes! I still got it!"

"Sonic?" He stood shakily keeping his hands on the Master Emerald to look over the wing, Sonic grinned up at him,

"Now c'mon you gotta admit, that was a way past cool catch I just made right?" Knuckles stared,

"Where did you come from?"

"Westside Island." Sonic replied turning the Tornado and diving, Knuckles shifted his weight gripping the Master Emerald faintly confused.

"You came back? Why?"

"I saw Angel Island falling. Well~ Tails saw it first and told me before I ran off. I figured something wasn't right so I hopped in the Tornado and flew out here. You're lucky I did!" Sonic flashed another grin, "I mean really Knux, sky diving with a giant gem and not a parachute? Not exactly smart~." Knuckle twitched scowling,

"Its not like that I planned that! It just happened."

"Speaking of happenings, what happen here?" Sonic landed the red biplane on the beach staring at fiery remains of the jungle, Knuckles jumped off the wing holding the Master Emerald sullen,

"Robotnik happened."

"Nnh," Sonic hopped out the plane jogging to catch up with Knuckles as he walked, "He came back? Wow he really meant business this time around huh."

"Hmph." Knuckles grunted stepping around a bush, and for the moment forgot Sonic until he found the giant ring he was looking for pausing infront of it he turned to Sonic, "You can leave now."

"Hm~," Sonic blinked hands linked behind his head buried in his quills, "Oh actually I'mma stick around for a while." Knuckles frowned,

"Why?"

"Cause you look upset."

"Of course I'm upset," he snorted, "I just spent the last two days fighting a robot army."

"No, not that upset." Sonic shook his head, "I mean 'Someone broke you favorite thing' upset." Knuckles twitched, did he really look that way, and scowled,

"Why do you care?" He bit out irritated at being caught sulking. Sonic rubbed his nose,

"Cause you're my friend." Knuckles blinked,

"Since when?"

"Since the day Tail and I left," Sonic grinned, "I didn't get a chance to say so, Tails didn't land the Tornado after we brought the Master Emerald back, but I consider you my friend." Knuckles stared slightly taken aback,

"Really? After everything I did to you and Tails?" Sonic waved a hand around,

"That kinda wasn't your fault, besides you had a pretty good reason, I guess, to do what you did." Sonic scratched his cheek, Knuckles was beginning feel faintly sheepish before pushing it away, narrowing his eyes,

"This isn't a joke, is it?" Sonic gave him a blank stare before jerking in disbelief,

"What! Why would you-" His shocked expression cleared becoming somewhat dark, "Oh . . . yeah," Sonic ran his fingers through his quills sighing,

"Knuckles, what Robotnik did, that was a real dirty trick, taking advantage of you like that. It's seriously uncool to do something like that. Which is why you should stick with me!" Sonic grinned, "I'll never do something like that." Knuckles stared hostility fading, he rubbed the back of his head humming,

"That's reassuring, I guess."

"Aw c'mon~," Sonic bounced up to him throwing an arm around his neck, "Try to be more excited! You just gained two way past cool friends and that's all you can say?" Knuckles grunted pushing him away,

"What do you want me to say?"

"I dunno, be more hyped!"

"I don't do hyped hedgehog."

"And that's exactly why you need me." Sonic poked his cheek, Knuckles glared pushing his finger away, "All work and no play with friends makes Knux a dull echidna~. With Tails and me you'll never be bored!"

"More like I'll never have a moment's peace."

"Its that kind of attitude that makes me want to bug you more~."

"Bug me more?" Sonic wagged a finger in his bewildered face,

"First rule of being friends: Friends annoy each other and laugh about it later."

"Okay . . ." Sonic's serious look morphed into a smile,

"Second rule of being friends: Friends help each other, whether they want it or not."

"I don't need help, everything's fine." Knuckles lifted the Master Emerald stepping through the ring, with Sonic trailing behind him,

"So you say! But still I'll stick around and help with whatever you're doing." Knuckles sighed,

"I'm not getting rid of you am I?"

"Third of rule being friends: Friends do everything in their power to stay in one general area with other friends who try and get rid of them."

"You just made that up didn't you?"

"No it's completely true." Sonic gave him his serious face again after Knuckles placed the Master Emerald in its original place, he snorted crossing his arms,

"That face makes me take you so seriously it hurts." Sonic grinned,

"Good now then, it's time to Search and Destroy!" He punched the air, Knuckles choked,

"Search and Destroy?"

"Any of Robuttnik's bots you might have missed." Knuckles opened his mouth to protest, he hadn't missed any bots, but Sonic blurred forward grabbing his wrist dragging him out the Hidden Palace, he stumbled before getting his feet under him pulling his wrist free. Sonic grinned over his shoulder and chirped, "Race ya!"

"What! I thought-" Sonic blurred again and disappeared from view, Knuckles stopped gawking and facepalmed, "Ugh crazy hedgehog." He began walking.

Sonic declared himself to be Knuckles friend, seeming not to care if Knuckles wanted him and Tails as friends. Did he really want friends, or rather did he want them as friends, they seemed to be somewhat troublesome to deal with. Sonic was too hyper, all noise and movement, Tails too curious always asking questions and poking his nose in anything he could find and then there was him. Knuckles was quiet and serious, he was hardly sociable, being on an island by yourself will do that to a person and then there was what happen not too long ago. He stopped frowning, Robotnik's betrayal made him wary to open up.

"Yo Knux!" He looked up, Sonic waved standing some ways away from him, "C'mon step it up! I wanna get this over with so we can meet up Tails and get chili dogs together, my treat~."

Then again, Sonic seemed willing to trust him, even after he repeated tried to kill him and Tails, he worried about him, coming back to check on him when he noticed Angel Island falling, noticed his sulking over losing Sky Sanctuary. . .

Knuckles started walking, 'That's what friends do, I guess.' he thought, 'They worry about each other.' He reached Sonic's side and immediately had the hedgehog's arm around his shoulders again.

"Dude you're too slow~."

"Eh whatever," Knuckles pushed him away giving him a look, "If you're going to help me, you can't screw around alright?"

"Whatever you say Knux!" Sonic chirped, giving him a two salute Knuckles nodded.

Hmm perhaps having a friend wouldn't be so bad, he reflected later as they flew from Angel Island some hours later, after they got rid of the last few bot roaming around the mini zones, he barely listened to Sonic as he gushed excited about chili dogs simply enjoying the wind flowing through his quills. He could finally relax.

"Knux have you been listening to me?"

"Nope." He almost chirped back,

"You should~. Fourth rule of being friends: Friends listen to each other."

"You're talking about food, if it isn't infront of me, I really don't care." Sonic made an insulted sound, he snickered to himself, friends also had an odd ability to make you laugh at the littlest thing.

"Hey~ are you laughing?"

"No."

"I see your shoulders shaking!"

"Shut up and fly the plane hedgehog." Sonic grinned taking his eyes off the tittering echidna looking forward, directing the Tornado off into the sunset~.

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><p>You guys smell that, that's the scent of a cliché ending. 8DD Yays~ I finished it~. Stayed up all night writing this. =w= Oi~~. Just to add moar friendship Sonic Knuckles stories on the site. :3 I hope I did Knuckles well enough~, and I'm not all that sure what I did with Sonic. XDDD He makes me laugh here though so I guess its all good~.<p>

Tell me how I did?

Ja na~!


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